Tips to Prepare for Virtual and Presentation Based QA Interviews – New Interview Trends (Part 2)

In this article, we will provide some important tips to prepare for virtual and presentation-based QA interviews, offering insights to help you confidently navigate technical questions.

We are on the path to understanding the changes that are taking place in the IT industry’s job market.

Many employers already preferred smaller/shorter resumes. For additional insights and a sample of a 1 or 2-page resume, visit our previous article in this series.

This article is going to be on interviews. There are two (or maybe three) things we will discuss here (of course, with plenty of samples and examples).

• Written Tests
• Virtual face-to-face interviews
• Presentation based interviews

Virtual and Presentation-Based QA Interviews

Let’s move to the details now.

Written Tests

Now, some might argue that this is not an interview, but one of the screening steps. Indeed. That’s my opinion as well. People had thought this screening technique was lost, but it has made a comeback and is thriving.

Coming to the testers, this is more applicable to the automation testers. You might be given a situation and told to write an automation test to understand your expertise in this area. It also makes sense that this mode of screening is used, because knowing coding/programming is a different aspect to being able to develop logic on the go.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

#1) Some options may be disabled. For example, you may be asked not to record and create the test from scratch using programming alone.

#2) Somebody (interviewer) must be at the conference watching you as you code. If not, your sessions could be recorded and replayed for the person making the hiring choice.

#3) The sessions are mostly time-bound.

#4) Be aware that the software version might be newer or older than what you might be comfortable with.

#5) It would be great if you could achieve the result in the time given to you. However, when that does not happen, try your best to showcase your analytical reasoning and strategy behind choosing the methods that you did. The idea is to show that the path is right and that with time and a little more effort, you will reach your destination.

#6) Display good coding/programming standards. Include comments, headings, indentations, etc.

#7) Don’t be shy to check out the help files from the IDE (for syntax, maybe), but avoid Google searches. Most companies disable internet access while the test is in progress. But even if they don’t, show your integrity by not seeking external help and shortcuts.

#8) Save your work as you go.

It is very rare for manual testing positions to have a written test as a screening. As a fresher recruited on campus for IT, I had to undergo a test covering basic vocabulary, arithmetic, and analytical/logical reasoning. That might still be prevalent.

So, keep a lookout for a written test. We never know when this might make its appearance and take us by surprise.

Video or Virtual Face to Face Interviews

If you have been in the job market recently, you know this is extremely common. The interviewer and interviewee meet up at a scheduled time over a webcam and online meeting sites to interview over the Internet.

Recommended Reading =>> How to test your Webcam

The same rules that apply to a face-to-face interview apply here, too. In addition, there are a few other pointers or interview etiquette aspects that have to be kept in mind.

Some of them are:

#1) Be on time. Agree on how and when you are going to meet. Decide who is going to call whom. Install software/create social network accounts ahead of time.

#2) A lot of times we see people in movies/ads/media attending online meetings while dressed in a formal shirt and beach shorts. That might not be a smart move here. Dress the way you would for an in-person interview. First, this prevents any accidental embarrassing situations. Second, it can set your mind into the interviewee mode.

#3) Eye contact communicates confidence. Remember, the eye here is the webcam/camera. When answering, make sure you look straight into the camera and not the eye of the person on the other side.

#4) Make sure there is no background noise.

#5) Also, make sure that the frame that gets displayed to the interviewer is clear, clutter-free, and something that will not steal the focus away from you.

#6) Check the connection status and seek confirmation if the audio/video is functional before beginning.

#7) If you want, you can do a trial run with a friend or create a video/audio recording to check what is working and what’s not.

Presentation Based Interviews

Sometimes with virtual interviews, the focus/engagement of the interviewer is disturbed or limited because of spatial limitations.

To avoid such situations, sometimes interviewees are told to prepare presentations about their recent/relevant projects to make sure that not only are the interviewers listening about the project but they also watching and participating in the presentation. This is a fairly new technique, but I foresee an increase in this model.

The advantage to the interviewee when this mode of interview is asked for is:

• Advanced prep time – use this wisely.
• Great opportunity to showcase your communication and presentation skills.
• You can also show your initiative, leadership, and confidence. Think of it as a chance to show how you would handle the first task presented to you at work.

Tips For Presentation-Based Interviews

Tip #1: Keep it short. Ask the interviewer how long this presentation will last.

Tip #2: Do not use distracting colors, keep it simple. The best combination is a white background with blue characters. Do not include any confidential information like the company logo containing screenshots (screenshots can help make the presentation engaging but be careful) or DB user ID passwords etc. from other projects/clients.

Tip #3: Be sure to keep it light. Keep it portable. Don’t make a heavy memory presentation that cannot be sent via email. You don’t normally have to send it to anyone, but just in case.

Tip #4: MS PowerPoint is a good option to create these presentations, but that is not the only one. Use whatever is best for your project. Excel sheets, real-time screen annotations, Word documents, and PDFs are all acceptable file types. Prioritize content rather than format. Therefore, choose wisely.

Tip #5: Do not create a cluttered presentation. Use these as pointers that you can build on and talk more about. But don’t jam all the content into one slide/page.

=> Check out the sample in the attachment: (Click on the file below to download)

Conclusion

As you can see, this is pretty simple. You can easily add more or remove some as needed. I prefer to let my words do the talking rather than the slide replacing me altogether.

With this, we have concluded the new trend series and hope that we have helped you catch on with the current market hiring situation.

Wishing the best of luck to all job seekers and looking forward to hearing your thoughts/questions in this series. Please let us know your opinion. Share your feedback and suggestions in the comments section below. Your thoughts and feedback are greatly appreciated.